People working in hot environments are often particularly susceptible to heat related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. For example, first responders (such as firefighters and police officers, for example), soldiers, athletes (such as football players, for example) and other workers (such as foundry workers, welders, and road construction crews, for example) may work in stressful and/or hot conditions. And protective gear worn by such workers may add to the heat and physical stress concerns. Heat-related illnesses are of real concern in such instances, and can result in hospitalization or even death. For example, heat stroke can have fatality rates as high as 50%. Thus, it may prove useful to employ some sort of regular or continuous monitoring of worker physiological parameters, to allow for early detection of the signs of heat-related illness or other stresses before the situation becomes serious. This type of monitoring may allow for preventative action to be taken early enough to prevent serious consequences. After all, once signs of heat stroke become readily apparent based on casual observation, it might well already be too late to avoid serious health concerns.
And individual monitoring may prove most effective, since individuals can react to temperature and other stresses differently. Often the best warning indicator for heat-related illness may be body core temperature. By observing rising body core temperature (or some effective proxy for body core temperature), it may be possible to provide an early alert warning of potential heat-related illness in time to allow for preventative measures (such as removing the worker from the heat environment, providing medical evaluation and/or care, and/or providing cooling measures, for example). But to be effective, the monitoring may need to be capable of being performed in an unobtrusive manner, with the physiological parameter(s) being monitored in a way that is accurate, comfortable, and well-accepted by the workers in order to improve compliance. This is particularly true if the monitoring is to be fairly continuous over a long duration (such as a work shift). Applicants therefore have developed embodiments of personal protective equipment that have integrated physiological sensors incorporated therein, as described in more detail below.